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TV News ®
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 Broadcasters responded
to changing Charley
Broadcasters jumped into action and fulfilled their most important role - - informing the public - - as Hurricane Charley devastated Florida on Friday. But the storm showed just how unpredictable weather emergencies can be as it made an unexpected turn - - heading inland well before it got to the Tampa-St. Petersburg area, where broadcasters had assisted local officials in carrying out a massive evacuation effort, and suddenly turned TV and radio stations in the Orlando market from interested observers into active participants. The Olympics took a back seat to storm coverage for NBC affiliates and just about every station - - AM, FM, TV and local cable - - pulled out all of the stops to deliver emergency information to viewers and listeners.
TVBR observation: This was broadcasting at its best. From our vantage point in the Tampa area, broadcasters earned high marks for delivering information that was important, useful and, in some cases, life-saving. Watching TV stations from Tampa-St. Pete, Sarasota and even Ft. Myers (via the Internet), we were particularly impressed by the professionalism of the meteorologists. Apparently, you really have to study hurricanes if you want to be a TV meteorologist in this area. News staffers worked long hours and kept information coming about evacuation orders, shelter locations and other emergency notices, along with the obligatory shots of reporters in front of swaying palm trees on the beach. Radio coverage was less impressive, for the most part, given the limited scale of radio news operations in recent years, but at least they were providing useful information - - even if, in some cases, that meant carrying audio from a better-staffed TV partner. For NBC affiliates, general managers had to decide on Olympic coverage and they made the right decisions. Read the total report. | More... |
Liberman under fire for Green Card show
Latino activist groups are demanding that Liberman Broadcasting cancel "Gana la Verde" (Win the Green), which is produced byw Liberman's KRCA-TV Los Angeles and also airs on its TV stations in San Diego, Houston and Dallas. The reality show is a bit like NBC's "Fear Factor," with contestants engaging in on-camera stunts such as eating live tequila worms or lying in a coffin with rats. The Latino groups don't object to the stunts, but rather to the prize - - a year's worth of free legal assistance from experienced immigration lawyers. The activists charge that the broadcaster is exploiting illegal immigrants and makes them potential targets for immigration agents. But Liberman Broadcasting COO Lenard Liberman isn't yielding to the complaints. He told the Los Angeles Times that he wanted to create a Spanish reality show that offered viewers something they couldn't afford on their own as a prize. Thus, the heavy-duty help in obtaining legal status. Even so, contestants have to sign an extensive release which specifies that there is no guarantee that the lawyers will be able to get them a green card. Liberman said he's willing to listen to the objectors, but said there had been no complaints from viewers or anyone who has participated in the show.
 Hearst-Argyle ready to go private?
Anyone who follows broadcasting stocks knows that Hearst Corporation has been a voracious buyer of Hearst-Argyle stock on the open market. Since April that buying has amounted to over a million shares, which has BusinessWeek speculating that Hearst could be poised to take the TV group (and two radio stations) private. The magazine says some hedge funds have already been buying up Hearst-Argyle shares in anticipation of a tender offer from Hearst to buy out other shareholders. Such speculation got a boost a few weeks ago when Cox Enterprises announced a bid to buy out other shareholders of its cable company, Cox Communications, at a 16% premium to what had then been the market price. Hearst-Argyle was created in 1997 when Hearst merged its privately-held TV group with publicly traded Argyle Television. Hearst has continued to be the company's largest shareholder throughout those seven years.
TVBR observation: They have the right idea and if they go private Hearst just may be the leader some public companies, especially in radio, need to get the heck out of that Wall Street rat race. We've heard the saying - 'If Wall Street doesn't Love us then we will buy back our stock' - can't continue saying it forever.
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 I'm Elmer Fudd,
and I appwoved this message
Well, that might be something you'd hear over a broadcast outlet if the esteemed Mr. Fudd were ever to run for office. However, if Fudd restricts his promotional activities to the Internet, you wouldn't necessarily know that he knows anything about the ad. Two US senators, one from each party, are looking to change that. According to an article in the Alliance for Better Campaigns' Political Standard, Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) are teaming up on legislation which would impose the same "stand by your ad" requirement on candidates that now exists on broadcast advertisements. Contemporary political campaign theory holds that candidates are far less likely to rely on attack ads in which their own face and/or voice is used for fear of a backlash.
However, as any recent candidate for vice-president can tell you, the theory holds that it's not nearly as bad for surrogates to go negative - - and it's been a job for campaigning veeps at least as far back as Richard Nixon's Spiro Agnew back in 1968. Internet advertising, which is more often than not seen by a candidate's faithful supporters, are said to be used as a tool to keep them energized, rather than as a wedge to move undecided voters. However, they are also often very hard-edged, since the candidate himself does not need to indicate any involvement whatsoever. The article quotes Graham spokesman Kevin Bishop, who said, "the 'stand by your ad' provision has made people more responsible. The more sunshine we can put into the process, the better off we'll all be."
 Emmis antagonist applauds FCC settlement
David Smith, whose 70 formal complaints to the FCC concerning the Mancow Muller radio show were a catalyst in the consent decree between the Commission and Emmis Communications, called the 300K cost of the settlement "...a tiny penalty..." However, he applauded the action, saying the goal wasn't to produce fines, it was to produce clean airwaves. Smith, who is now Senior Policy Analyst for the Illinois Family Institute, said, "Emmis' payment of 300K is an admission of guilt, and it is a tiny penalty for the violations of broadcast indecency aired by Mancow's Morning Madhouse. That being said, however, our goal was to seek improvement in broadcast decency, and not vengeance. In my mind we've achieved our goal. Emmis, like other broadcast corporations, has adopted zero tolerance policies, and is now willing to operate within the law." In victory, Smith even had some kind words for Mancow himself. "I have to give credit where credit is due; Mancow's program has improved noticeably." None of this means that Smith will be letting up. He served notice that the tapes are still running. "Our goal to clean up the airwaves is well underway. I will continue to monitor certain radio and televisions programs, including Mancow's, and will not hesitate to file complaints for broadcast indecency if warranted."
Making the mark as a digital market
The NAB reports that nearly 1,300 over-the-air broadcast television stations are operating parallel digital facilities - - the actual number now stands at 1,292. The number of US TV households still out of range of at least one signal is a paltry 0.31%. In fact, nearly nine out of ten households - - 87.54% - - have their choice of five such stations, and nearly seven out of ten - - 69.23% - - have their pick of eight or more. Broadcasters have achieved 100% DTV-activation in 44 of 207 Nielsen markets.
Alexandria LA, Austin TX, Bakersfield CA, Bangor ME, Biloxi-Gulfport MS, Bowling Green KY, Charleston-Huntington WV, Charlotte NC, Charlottesville VA, Cincinnati OH, Columbia-Jefferson City MO, Dayton OH, Duluth MN-Superior WI, Eugene OR, Ft. Wayne IN, Greensboro-High Point-Winston Salem NC, Harrisonburg VA, Hattiesburg-Laurel MS, Joplin MO-Pittsburg KS, Kansas City MO, Knoxville TN, Lafayette IN, Lake Charles LA, Laredo TX, Lima OH, Lincoln & Hastings-Kearny Plus NE, Mankato MN, Memphis TN, North Platte NE, Ottumwa IA-Kirksville MO, Parkersburg WV, Peoria-Bloomington IL, Presque Isle ME, St. Joseph MO, San Angelo TX, San Diego CA, Seattle-Tacoma WA, Sherman TX-Ada OK, Topeka KS, Victoria TX, Wheeling WV-Steubenville OH, Wilmington NC, Yakima-Pasco-Richland-Kennewick WA, Zanesville OH
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Conference Calls, Q2 2004
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Political and other ad sales up for Allbritton
Allbritton Communications owns ABC affiliates in seven markets and the company reports that political ad sales were up in all but one of them in its fiscal Q3 (April-June). Political advertising accounted for 1.9 million dollars during the quarter, compared to only a couple of hundred thousand a year ago. The company said it got a boost from both local primaries and the national presidential campaign. But political was the only sector up for Allbritton. Local and national ad revenues rose 0.8%. In all, the company booked revenues of 53.4 million for the quarter, up 4.1%. Operating cash flow for the quarter rose 11.4% to 20.7 million. Allbritton is privately owned, but has public bonds.
TV hot, radio soft for Liberman
Liberman Broadcasting, whose IPO is still pending, reported that Q2 was an up quarter. The company already has public bonds under the name LBI Media. Net revenues were up 10% to 24.8 million dollars. However, expenses were up 12%, so adjusted EBITDA was up only 7% to 13.4 million. Net income increased 16% to 7.2 million. Radio net revenues dropped 7% to 11.8 million dollars. Liberman said the decline was primarily due to a decline in national business. The company apparently succeeded in cutting costs, since radio operating income fell only 3% to 6.2 million. Television net revenues jumped 31% to 13 million dollars. The company said that was due to growth at its stations, plus the acquisition of KMPX-TV Dallas-Ft. Worth in January. TV operating income rose 25% to 6.0 million. Liberman owns four TV stations and 16 radio stations in California and Texas, all programmed for Hispanic audiences.
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 False ads cost 2.2 million
A jury in Wilmington, DE has awarded Callaway Golf Company 2.2 million dollars after finding that competing golf ball maker Dunlop Slazenger Group Americas ran false ads in 2001 and '02 claiming that Dunlop's Maxfli A10 golf ball was the "Longest Ball on Tour." The jury also rejected a counter-claim by Dunlop that Callaway had used Dunlop trade secrets. Dunlop could still appeal the verdict, but for now Callaway is claiming vindication. "We are very pleased that this hard-fought, three-year battle has resulted in a jury verdict finding that Callaway Golf did not use any of Dunlop's trade secrets in the creation of our golf balls," said William Baker, Chairman and CEO of Callaway Golf. "We also are grateful that the jury found that Dunlop falsely advertised the performance of the Maxfli A10 golf balls. This verdict demonstrates that false statements in advertising simply will not be tolerated. Callaway manufactures golf balls that sell under the Callaway Golf HX Tour Balls, HX Blue and HX Red Balls, Big Bertha Blue and Big Bertha Red Balls, Warbird Balls and Top-Flite names.
NYC ads to target Republicans
The City Council in New York may be overwhelmingly composed of Democrats, but members aren't missing a chance to take advantage of the Republican National Convention coming to town. The New York times reports that the City Council is set to run newspaper ads just before the convention appealing to the Republicans (who control Congress, after all) to provide more federal money for local antiterrorism and education programs. The 13,000 dollar tab for the ad campaign will be paid by a union group - - the New York City Central Labor Council. The Times says the ads will tread carefully, not criticizing President Bush, the GOP convention or New York's Republican mayor, Mike Bloomberg, but calling attention to claims by city officials, including Bloomberg, that NYC has been shortchanged when it comes to federal financing formulas for antiterrorism programs.
 Sprint just a Riney-stone cowboy
Sprint Local Consumer Solutions has taken the final step to consolidating all of its advertising with one company, and the lucky winner is Publicis & Hal Riney of San Francisco. It will handle creative and account planning for all mass media efforts. Sprint is active as a local exchange carrier in parts of 18 states, including Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Ppennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.
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Washington Beat
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 NAB on the day the sets go blank
The National Association of Broadcasters has done some homework. It says that there are 20.5M homes in the US right now that are unwired and undished - - they receive television programming solely over the air. Further, another 18.3M of those homes which do subscribe to cable of satellite MVPD services have additional sets in use which are not plugged in. In all, 280.5M analog TV sets are currently in use, 73M of which are unwired. The NAB's ultimate position is clear and concise: "Clearly, the free, universal OTA (over-the-air) broadcast service must be preserved and the 20.5M households that rely on it must be protected against loss of service." NAB notes that by the time analog is unplugged, many in that group will have switched to digital equipment, especially as demand rises and costs fall. It says that nonetheless "Some government subsidation likely may be necessary..." It further suggests that "The FCC's practice of requiring auction winners to bear the costs of moving incumbent spectrum users would seem to be a useful idea, particularly as broadcasters have shouldered DTV transmission costs." NAB concludes, "Clearly, something must be done to mitigate the consumer disruption that is certain to occur if consumer sets throughout the home become obsolete at the flip of a switch. It would seem that making converter boxes affordable is the key to this brewing problem."
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Engineering
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NBC to cast wider net over Bay area
The FCC has issued a construction permit to NBC Universal Television Stations to build a new transmitter for KNTV Channel 11 in the sprawling San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose market. The station is licensed to San Jose. The new site on Mt. San Bruno will maintain coverage of that city, while simultaneously throwing a much better signal over SF and numerous other areas. Counties enjoying vastly improved over-the-air reception include San Francisco, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Napa, Sonoma and Alameda. "This new transmitter, which we will start building immediately, will greatly improve the reception of our digital and analog programming throughout the vast geographic region that we serve," said NBC's Jay Ireland. San Jose remains the city of license. In fact, NBC is building a new HQ there which will house both KNTV and Telemundo sister KSTS.
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Programming
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 TV pioneer Julia Child dead at 91
Cooking shows are a staple of television today, including some cable channels that run little else, but that wasn't always the case. Julia Child pioneered the genre on the national scene back in the 1960s and became one of the first PBS personalities to become a true star. Child died Friday at age 91, just two days shy of what would have been her 92nd birthday. | More... |
Late night opening at CBS
After five years of working the late, late shift, Craig Kilborne has decided to quit CBS' "Late Late Show." There's no immediate word on who will take over as host of the show, which follows David Letterman's "Late Show" and is produced by Letterman's company, Worldwide Pants. If you're a trivia buff, you know that Kilborn took over as host from Tom Snyder.
 Cody goes cross-platform
Jones Media Networks is putting together two of its units in a cross-platform promotional effort. The plan is to strengthen ties between Bill Cody's weekly syndicated radio show, which is distributed by Jones Radio Networks, with Jones Media's country cable channel, Great American Country (GAC). Cody's show has been renamed from "Classic Country Weekend" to "GAC's Classic Country Weekend with Bill Cody. "Working more closely with GAC on the radio show is a real win for our Classic Country Weekend affiliates. It opens the door to a ton of cross-promotion opportunities on both a national and a local level, plus allows us to utilize the content resources of GAC television to enhance the show's programming," said Ken Moultrie, Director of Programming, Jones Radio Networks-Seattle. Cody, the morning man for WSM-AM Nashville and hosts "GAC Classic" for the cable net.
Oprah gets jury duty
Oprah Winfrey has a busy day today. She's been ordered to report for jury duty at the Cook County Criminal Court in Chicago. Court officials say the TV talk show host will be treated the same at the rest of the 300-person jury pool once she's inside the courthouse, but she is being permitted to use a side door to avoid any media circus in front of the courthouse.
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TV Ratings
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Reruns jeopardize Jeopardy's ratings
You can bet that folks will be back to see if Ken Jennings can continue his winning streak when "Jeopardy" begins its new season, but for now the game show has seen ratings fall after going into reruns. The really surprising move is by "Everybody Loves Raymond," which jumped up to the number two spot ahead of not only Jeopardy, but also "Seinfeld" and "Oprah." That's no problem for KingWorld, since it still has all three of the top spots.
Here are the top 10 syndicated shows for the week of 7/26-8/1:
1. "Wheel of Fortune," KingWorld, 7.3 rating.
2. "Everybody Loves Raymond," KingWorld, 6.1.
3. "Jeopardy," KingWorld, 6.0.
4. "Seinfeld," Sony Pictures, 5.6.
(tie) "Oprah Winfrey Show," KingWorld, 5.6.
6. "Seinfeld" Weekend, Sony Pictures, 5.3.
7. "Friends," Warner Bros., 5.2.
8. "Wheel of Fortune" Weekend, KingWorld, 4.3.
(tie) "Entertainment Tonight," Paramount, 4.3.
10. "Judge Judy," Paramount, 4.2.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
 What's a little weather to Nielsen?
As Hurricane Charley bore down on Florida's west coast on Friday, Nielsen was assuring stations that they should continue to receive ratings date throughout the weekend. "Despite the approach of Hurricane Charley on the Tampa, Florida area where Nielsen's production facilities are located, local and national TV ratings for Thursday are available for our clients today as usual," the ratings company said Friday. As it turned out, the storm turned away from Tampa and Nielsen's offices were spared a direct hit and suffered minimal damage. "Despite delays for the Ft. Myers, Orlando and Tampa metered market TV ratings this morning, the other metered market ratings and Nielsen's preliminary national ratings will be released to our clients today as normally scheduled," Nielsen said in an update on Saturday.
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Monday Morning Shakers & Makers
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Deals: 7/5/04-7/9/04
You have to go back six weeks to find a higher trading volume than this week's TV-fueled total, which approached but did not reach the 80M dollar mark. If not for the value of the TV stations, which was there despite their small-market status, this would've been another totally humdrum week. All but one of the filings was for a lone station (although one included an LMA), and the only multiple-station sale was an threesome in an unrated market for only 100K cash.
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Total
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Total Deals
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9
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AMs
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4
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FMs
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4
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TVs
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3
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| Value |
 78,653,750
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| Complete Charts |
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Radio Deal of the Week
Douglas doubles down in Sin City
| More... |
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TV Deal of the Week
Driving 55 in the Houston fringe
| More... |
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Stock Talk
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Stocks close barely higher
The surprise was that stock prices were up at all on Friday. Oil prices moved up yet again to hit a record 46 dollars 60 cents. But stock traders still found reasons to buy, despite the higher oil prices and a monthly University of Michigan survey showing an unexpected drop in consumer confidence. The Dow Industrials inched up 11 points, or 0.1%, to 9,825.
TV stocks were mixed. Fox gained 4.4%, Fisher rose 3.9%, ACME was up 2.6%, Sinclair rose 2.4%, Viacom Class B advanced 2.1%, and Emmis rebounded 1.6%. On the other hand, Paxson fell 4.3%, Nexstar was down 2.9%, Belo dipped 1.6% and Disney was off 1.5%.
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TV Stocks
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Here's how stocks fared on Friday
| Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
Company |
Symbol |
Close |
Change |
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Acme
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ACME
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6.22
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+0.16
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McGraw-Hill
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MHP
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73.53
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+0.28
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Belo
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BLC
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21.22
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-0.35
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Media General
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MEG
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56.96
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-0.27
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Clear Channel
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CCU
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34.44
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-0.25
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Meredith
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MDP
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49.31
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-0.29
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Disney
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DIS
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20.89
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-0.32
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News Corp.
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NWS
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32.20 |
+0.37
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Emmis
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EMMS
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19.60
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+0.31
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Nexstar
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NXST
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7.98
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-0.24
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Entravision
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EVC
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7.99
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-0.04
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NY Times
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NYT
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41.31
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-0.10
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Fisher
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FSCI
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46.92
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+1.75
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Paxson
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PAX
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2.25
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-0.10
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Fox
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FOX
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26.36
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+1.11
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Saga Commun.
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SGA
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17.66
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-0.17
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Gannett
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GCI
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81.68
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-0.17
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Scripps
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SSP
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98.03
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-0.22
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Gen. Electric
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GE
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31.89
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+0.28
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Sinclair
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SBGI
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8.05
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+0.19
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Granite
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GBTVK
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0.53
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-0.12
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Time Warner
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TWX
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15.62
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+0.02
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Gray
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GTN
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11.67
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+0.15
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Tribune
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TRB
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40.90
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-0.08
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Gray, C1. A
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GTNa
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11.01
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unch
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Univision
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UVN
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34.04
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+0.29
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Hearst-Argyle
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HTV
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23.56
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unch
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Viacom, Cl. A
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VIA
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33.16
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+0.51
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Jeff-Pilot
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JP
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48.26
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-0.11
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Viacom, Cl. B
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VIAb
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32.70
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+0.68
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Journal Comm.
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JRN
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16.30
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+0.27
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Wash. Post
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WPO
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863.01
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-10.09
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Liberty Corp
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LC
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39.71
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-0.66
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Young
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YBTVA
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9.79
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+0.18 |
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LIN TV
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TVL
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19.27
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+0.22
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Have a news story you'd like to share? tvnews@rbr.com
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TVBR Audiocast
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08/16 - Get the feel of what you are scrolling down and reading... Listen to this morning's AudioCast and
Hold On To Your Hair!
 Listen Now
with Bob DeCarlo'
"In Da Morning"
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Bounceback
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We want to hear from you.
This is your column, so send your comments to tvnews@rbr.com
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Broadcasters Helping Broadcasters
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Now that Hurricane Charley has cut a swath through Florida, it's likely that several broadcasters are among the local businesses who suffered damage from the storm's high winds and flooding. We were informed, for example, that Genesis' WHOO-AM Orlando lost two towers in the midst of its broadcasting emergency information. If your station suffered hurricane damage and is in need of equipment to get back on the air, please notify us by email, tvnews@rbr.com, so we can post the need and see if another broadcaster is able to come to your assistance. Be sure to include contact information.
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International
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NFL heads south
of the border
We know that baseball is big in Mexico, but can pro football really draw an audience in a country where soccer is king? The National Football League has been trying to make inroads into Mexico for years, but last year it was left with no free over-the-air broadcast partner south of the border, leaving pro football fans with only pay-per-view and, in some areas, cable. But now the NFL has signed new deals with two of its former Mexican partners, Televisa and TV Azteca, to broadcast NFL games over the next three seasons. "The broadcast of NFL games on over-the-air television is fundamental to the expansion of our fan base and business in Mexico," said Katie Boes, NFL Senior Director of International Media. Televisa's Galavision Network gets a schedule that includes mostly Monday night games and the NFC playoffs, while Azteca 7 will carry Sunday afternoon games and the AFC playoffs. Both get to carry the Super Bowl.
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July Digital Magazine
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Complimentary Report
Sports - Summer NFL training camp, Baseball, NBA draft just hit and what you need to succeed:
Programming - Sells with NTR - What works and what doesn't
Read RBR in 2 simple steps:
1.Create a simple account with Zinio and download the free Zinio Reader.
2. You can then download the free July Issue of RBR
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TVBR Radar 2004
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Click on these issues for TV News you won't read any where else. TVBR--First, Accurate, and Independently Owned.
Emmis assents to consent,
agrees to pay
Enriching the US Treasury by 300K dollars following in the footsteps of Clear Channel, but not leaving anywhere near as large a footprint in payment. It will also scrub clean the radio group's file. As part of the deal, Emmis admitted that is broadcast at least some actionably indecent material. TVBR observation: There must've been something at least mildly juicy in the hopper.
08/13/04 TVBR #158
Infinity nailed
Everyone's been waiting for the other shoe to drop on Viacom/Infinity. Infinity's been fined, but we're STILL waiting for the other shoe to drop. The fine is for airing a phone call on Urban WBLK-FM Buffalo NY without first informing the caller. It's a 4K dollar forfeiture order. Infinity tried to wriggle out of it, to no avail. RBR observation: We're all wondering when the real fine will come - - the Howard Stern doozy. The FCC already hit up Clear Channel to the tune of 495K dollars for a Howard show aired on only six stations. How hard can it be to figure out how much Infinity owes for all of its Howard stations? And what about the Super Bowl incident? Is anything going to come of that? Can Viacom/Infinity's vow to fight have anything to do with the delay? 08/13/04 RBR #158
Scripps lowers TV guidance
Is backing off on its bullish Q3 projections for revenues at its TV stations. Rather than the 20% increase it told investors to expect last month, Scripps has now trimmed that to "about 15%".
TVBR observation: With political spending so narrowly focused this year on key states, and even key markets within those states, it's very hard to forecast just who is going to get political ad buys - - and when. Projecting just how much that windfall will be, though, is more art than science. Don't count the eggs too soon. Lesson here people. 08/12/04 TVBR #157
News Corporation board
ready to immigrate
Outside directors has given its go-ahead to Rupert Murdoch's proposal to reincorporate the company in the United States. TVBR observation: As we noted back in April, some days it is always about the money. 08/12/04 TVBR #157
Disney CEO Michael Eisner
declared himself "satisfied"
As earnings per share rose 21% to 0.29 cents - - beating the Thompson One Analytics consensus by two cents. TVBR observation: Things are still far from jolly in the Disney Kingdom, but everyw quarter that Eisner can show some improvement is a quarter that he is under less pressure to hit the road. The key, though, is fixing ABC. Nobody is yet promising when that will occur - - only that things may not be so dismal next season as they have been. 08/11/04 TVBR #156
Interep still looking for
national to rebound
CEO Ralph Guild says he remains optimistic that an upturn in national spot spending is coming - - but he isn't saying just when.
RBR observation: It is hard being and independent rep firm with many masters to serve and little assets to do it with. Ralph - time to bring someone to the party.
08/11/04 RBR #156
Kellner sees radio and
non-pol TV in same boat
According to ACME Comm. CEO Jamie Kellner, there are haves and have-nots in this year's advertising environment. The haves are the big four TV network affiliate groups, who are cashing in big on political spending with their news-intensive stations. TVBR observation: Finally someone has said it for TV; they are in the same boat going up stream with only one paddle.
08/10/04 TVBR #155
Chrysler launches "Discover Your Ride" on Infinity stations
Infinity Broadcasting says more than 125 of itwand online cross-promotion for the Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep brands called "Discover Your Ride." The idea that leverages the popularity of Infinity DJs by encouraging their loyal listeners to check out an innovative way to shop for a new car using the stations website. TVBR observation: If you didn't get it then take a look see at that rich media and internet action is all about. "Discover Your Ride," also means discover the marketing, sales, programming and local interaction. 08/10/04 TVBR #155
Powering up the DTV plant
Stations operating a DTV station along side their traditional analog station have been thus far allowed to operate at reduced power. The time for that to change is now upon us. Here, straight from the FCC.
Editor's note: Best print this out as your rule book because if you ask your FCC Lawyer it will cost you but our observations are free.
08/09/04 TVBR #154
Senators step up to the
plate for Adelstein
A bipartisan group of Senate Commerce Committee members are making a third attempt to shake the proposed nomination of FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein out of the White House cubby hole wherein it is entrenched, and get it to the floor for a vote. 17 members of the committee signed a letter asking that President George W. Bush submit his name. TVBR observation: A piece of history as RBR has the letter, dated (8/5/04), showing the who's who inside the beltway. Here's the letter. 08/09/04 TVBR #154
A choice proposition on DTV
Most television broadcasters are currently operating on two channels, with one broadcast going out in analog and the other in digital. The time is rapidly approaching when final decisions must which channel - - perhaps one the two already occupied or perhaps a third option - - will become the permanent home when the station is digital-only. Here, straight from the FCC, are the channel election parameters.
08/06/04 TVBR #153
TVBR economic snapshot
The economic recovery continues to caterpillar forth, with each new day providing a freshly mixed bag of signs for the tea-leaf rewders to ponder. This time, while jobless claims were down, so were retail sales. But there is something which may be going up - - interest rates. Various prediction is Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan is going to put another quarter of a percent onto the prime ! rate, moving it from 1.25% to 1.5%. This is because for all the sluggishness, there are also positive signs, such as renewed consumer confidence and a jump in auto sales. Editor's note: Best have your business model in place after November 2nd. For whom the bell tolls rings 01/01/05.
08/06/04 TVBR #153
Nexstar CEO Sook says
JSA NPRM is a long shot
Major issue facing TV broadcasters addressed by Perry Sook is - The FCC's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on TV station JSAs. We feel this is the start of a process. And with changes in the Commissioner ranks at the FCC, we think regardless of the outcome of the election we think this process will take a substantial amount of time to play out-perhaps years.
08/05/04 TVBR #152
TVB: cable penetration drops, satellite rises
Nielsen figures showing a nine-year low in cable penetration thanks to the growth of alternative delivery systems (ADS), which are mostly, satellite DBS. See the list.
08/05/04 TVBR #152
FCC puts the cattle-prod
to DTV process
The FCC has taken several steps toward bringing the conversion to digital television to a conclusion. All of them are aimed squarely at broadcasters. 08/05/04 TVBR #152
TV/DTV allotment requests on ice
The FCC is putting a freeze on all requests to make allotment and/or service area changes to existing analog and/or digital television stations. It goes into effect immediately and will stay in effect until further notice. The action is being taken to further the DTV transition. TVBR observation: Annoyed? Wanna comment? Forget it. The FCC explains that, too, saying that "...this freeze is procedural in nature and therefore the freeze is not subject to the notice and comment and effective date requirements..." most such dictates require.
08/04/04 TVBR #151
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